"Patna High Court's Landmark Ruling: Wife Can File Section 498A IPC Complaint Despite Giving Consent to Husband's Second Marriage
In a significant ruling last week, the Patna High Court declared that a wife can file a complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cruelty, even if she had previously consented to her husband's second marriage. This verdict came in the case of Arun Kumar Singh vs Nirmala Devi.
A division bench consisting of Justices Pavankumar Bajanthri and Jitendra Kumar rejected the appellant-husband's argument that he had obtained prior consent from his first wife, whom he had married in May 1978, before entering into a second marriage in 2004.
The court took note of the fact that the second marriage had ended in failure in 2005, and in 2010, the first wife filed a case under Section 498A against her husband, alleging cruelty.
The court ruled that even though the husband claimed to have entered into the second marriage with the consent of his first wife, the mere act of entering into a second marriage itself amounted to cruelty towards the first wife.
"It is common knowledge that such second marriages are not tolerated by most wives, and therefore, entering into a second marriage itself constitutes cruelty towards the first wife, prompting her to live separately and providing grounds for filing complaints under Section 498A," the Court stated.
The bench also clarified that the act of the wife filing criminal cases under Section 498A cannot be considered cruelty towards the husband.
This ruling came in response to an appeal filed by the husband, challenging a July 2017 order from a family court in Sheikhpura, which had dismissed his plea for divorce.
According to the husband's plea, he had initially married his first wife in 1978. However, their relationship deteriorated following the birth of their daughter, leading to them living separately. In 2004, he entered into a second marriage, claiming to have obtained prior consent from his first wife.
In 2010, the first wife initiated legal action by filing a complaint under Section 498A and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. She also filed a second criminal case against him under Section 498A.
While the High Court granted the husband anticipatory bail in both cases, it directed him to pay ₹5,000 per month to his first wife as maintenance and an additional sum of ₹5 lakh towards their daughter's marriage.
The daughter's wedding took place in 2013, after which the husband requested his wife to consent to a mutual divorce, but his request was rejected.
Subsequently, he filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alleging that the cases filed by his wife were false and intended to harass him.
The family court, however, rejected his plea, leading to his appeal before the High Court.
The Patna High Court ruled that the husband failed to prove that the two cases filed by his first wife under Section 498A were false and fabricated, and they were not intended to harass him.
In conclusion, the High Court found no merit in the husband's appeal and upheld the family court's decision, dismissing the matrimonial case seeking divorce."
Advocate Ashok Kumar Garg represented the husband in the case, while Advocate Shree Kant Pandey represented the wife.
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